A true fruit develops from the ovary at the base of a flower and contains the seeds of its plant. A tomato is therefore definitely a fruit. Other “vegetables” that are really fruits include capsicums, zucchinis and chillies.

Bananas also develop from the ovaries of flowers, but where are their seeds? We’ve eaten a lot of bananas and we’ve never found any. When we did some research, we discovered that wild bananas have obvious, black seeds. Apparently, the plants of commercially-grown bananas are sterile and the seeds only develop into tiny black specs. If you look closely, you should be able to see them.

So, now that we’re sure a banana is a fruit, is it a herb? A herb is a plant whose stem does not contain any woody tissue. Banana “trees” are therefore not trees. They are herbaceous plants and should perhaps be called banana herbs.

So to answer this week's question, a banana is both a fruit and a herb.

A banana is not a herb and is clearly not a tree, it is a herbaceous plant that has a thick underground stem or rhizome which is called a corm. The trunk is known as a psuedostem made up of tighly rolled leaves that only unfurl at the top.

actually.. i went to a banana plantation a couple of months ago in Tenerife, the owner, Francisco has owned and run the majority of the banana plantations for over 60 years and even he said bananas are a fruit AND a herb.

Hi David! The confusion here lies in the definition of "herb". Most people think of a herb as tasty vegetable matter used in cooking; the word herb really has two separate meanings as indicated by these Macquarie Dictionary definitions:

"1: a flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody and persistent2: such a plant when valued for its medicinal properties, flavour, scent or the like."

This suggests that rosemary fits the definition of a herb in a culinary sense, but not in a botanical one.

What gets confusing is when a culinary plant is called a herb but is not used as a herb in a culinary sense!

herb, herbaceous plant or fruit one thing for sure is that they contain potassium and is plentiful in all those yummy nutrients vital for our bodies nourishment and stomachs satisfaction!!! so be like me and dont argue over what it is...... it is deliciously beautiful so just enjoy its nutritional values and its aesthetics as it stands proud, long and yellow

Thanks for clarifying that for me. B1 and I have had quite an identity crisis since the debate began in Cuddlestown. Now I can tell everyone that we're herbs... or was it fruit. Either way we're still Bananas in Pyjamas

The confusion is all down to semantics. A banana is definitely a fruit, it just happens to be the fruit of a herb(acious) plant. 'Herbs' (in the common culinary usage) are normally the leaves and/or stems of a herb(acious) plant. If you're still not convinced, what is an apple - is it a tree because that's the sort of plant it grows on, or is a grape a vine? A fruit is part of the reproductive system of a plant, irrespective of the type of plant.